This month’s Place I’ll Remember isn’t just one place, but what the places have in common is the Cleveland Clinic. The Clinic and its foundation are experimenting with programs to alleviate workforce housing shortages both at home base in Cleveland and in Florida near the Indian River Hospital location.
In Cleveland, employees are eligible for home purchase forgivable loan programs, home improvement matching grants and rental assistance.
More recently, the Clinic’s Foundation has expanded into subsidizing workforce housing for both employees and the greater community in Indian River (Vero Beach), Florida, considering proposals to donate or sell a 14 acre parcel of land donated to the Foundation to create affordable housing.
This is good policy and I hope it moves forward. What isn’t so good is that a number of factors have led the Clinic to close its labor and delivery unit in Martin County and is holding town halls now to determine how to maintain those services in Indian River in the face of significant losses and staffing shortages. Unfortunately, that’s not a rare situation.